The Year is 2132 Ch. 05

The best part is that homeless veterans are being fed, clothed, sheltered and medically cared for. Claude wonders why no one has thought of this before.

Dear readers, I'll keep this short: the aforementioned idea is not new. There are advocates for turning unused military bases into housing for the indigent and homeless, veterans and non-veterans. They could become a useful part of society again, helping each other; making salable goods; gaining back lost pride; etc. Sorry to break into the story like this, but I have espoused this idea for years hoping that my government and other governments get the message, and I feel I must spread the word. Think of all the problems it would solve. Every city has homeless who take a toll on that city's infrastructure and finances. If each city offered a fraction of what the homeless now costs, to the project, it could be maintained. Eventually, hopefully, it would be self-maintaining.

Now back to deliciously nasty sex and my fantasies - or possibly OUR fantasies, but first:

"Sire, the men are working very hard and are most appreciative of everything you and Claude have done for them. They eat well, follow their crafts, and are almost a fighting force again. Soon, they will be able to take the field. Just a little more training, and they will be able to defend this encampment and Claude's estate. They have done well. I am proud of them. However, I have a concern. When these men reach a full readiness state, they will start getting restless."

"Marcus, why will they get restless. They have everything they need, don't they?"

"Sire, they don't have women. In the city, they had access to prostitutes and other needy women. I'm sorry to say that there were rapes in the city, and probably some of these men are guilty of that. Being older or having disabilities doesn't stop them from wanting women. Can we bring in prostitutes? It would help take the pressure off. If we don't do something, the few wives that are here may be in peril from rape. That could cause fighting among the troops. We don't want them turned into a mob.

"I see what you mean. I'll discuss it with Claude this night. In the meantime, do your best to keep them busy, Marcus. Do you think that games will help?"

"Possibly, I'll set up contests for archery, javelin throwing, and whatever they could do to compete against each other. Could you offer money to the winners?"

"Absolutely, or maybe something better. Let me think about that, but go ahead and set up the games."

Steev goes to the Exosphere and checks the catalog. He finds a few things that might interest the men. Unfortunately, he can't conjure up women. He has two other problems. He is running out of raw material to feed the hopper of the replicator. He and Cherl have cut apart the entire floor of objects that could be thrown into the replicator hopper. The lab and sleeping areas have been denuded. The floor is empty. Nothing remains but the replicator and hopper and the room containing computer workstations/command center; Steev has tried to break into the lower portion of the sphere in order to salvage anything that could fit in the hopper; however the floor material is made of an alloy that resists even the powerful plasma cutter that has made short work of everything else.

The second problem facing him is finding a power supply to keep the Exosphere, replicator, and the computer servers operating. He is at a loss as to how to solve that problem.

That night, he is lost in thought, and at bedtime, Sera and Keri are getting restless.

Keri speaks, "Sir, what is wrong? You seem worried. Can Sera and I help?"

"Girls, you help me all the time, but this is something other than sex. I need a source of power, and I'm at a loss as to how to go about getting it. Thank you for offering though."

"If you mean power to do work, Sera and I know a way. Don't we Sera?"

"Of course, Sir. The water that comes to Claude's estate is driven here by windmills from a well about half a mile to the northwest. Would that help you?"

"My lord, girls, that's a great idea. I could kiss you all night long for that; however, I must go back to the camp and talk to Marcus. You may play together until I return." He thinks to himself, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Steev drives his dune buggy to the camp and wakens Marcus. "Marcus, do you think the men could build several windmills near here and at 'Park Plaza', too." When Marcus says he will set the task, and his men certainly will do the job, Steev thinks that problem may be resolved. He goes to the Exosphere and hunts through the catalog screen. Eureka! He finds kits for erecting power producing turbines similar to but much smaller than those on Earth. The Earth wind turbines were necessary when fossil fuel sources dried up. He hadn't remembered them because they were on land that he hadn't frequented. But the first problem stops him in his tracks. Where will he get the raw materials? Putting off the problem, he returns to the estate and to Keri and Sera.

Although Steev has a lot to think about, his consorts, using their mouths and vaginas, take him on a joy ride, and drain his, ahem, anxieties. Sated, the three lovers collapse into bed and attempt to sleep. They are lying spoon fashion with Steev sandwiched between the young, sweet bodies of his consorts. As he starts to drift off, he feels Sera's round bottom shiver against his groin. Although sexually replete, he becomes erect and hard as Sera's firm buttock cheeks grip his penis and begin a pulsing movement. Behind him, Keri feels the vibration and rubs her breasts against his back and her loins against Steev's rear end. The feel of their satin smooth, soft skin and their subtle movements turn him on again. Sera's butt cheeks continue their squeeze and release tactic until Steev is close to another orgasm. He wants to sleep, but he can't stop his body from reacting to the girl's ministration. Sera senses his proximity to an ejaculation; she whispers, "Kera, get your mouth close to Steev's penis. Quickly, don't lose his semen." Sera pulls her bottom away from his penis and Keri's mouth closes over it and receives his ejaculate. Sera exclaims, "Don't swallow it all, Keri. Save some for me." The girls kiss and share their bounty.

Steev is exhausted, physically and sexually; he pleas for mercy causing the girls to giggle. They have heard him make this plea numerous times but still find it humorous. They take pity on the 'old man' and roll away into a sidewise 69 position, their favorite. When Steev named it 69, they were perplexed until he showed them the Arabic numerals; since then, they, too, have referred to it as their 69. As he drifts off to sleep, he muses, "These girls are insatiable. How great to be young as they and have a constant need for physical love. But how can I, at my age -- and getting older, hope to keep up with their needs and desires. It's fortunate, though, that their sexual training included lesbian sex, and they can take care of their own needs when I falter. Back on earth, I never imagined having this problem. I can't stop thinking that I am in a sexual fantasy paradise." The last sounds he hears, as he drifts off into the arms of Morpheus, are those their mouths make as the girls pleasure each other.

The next morning back at the camp, Marcus tells him they have another problem. The waste dump that they are using is becoming a small mountain, and they need to find a way to get rid of it before it becomes a health risk.

"Marcus, I don't have time today to think about that. I have my own problems. Scout around and see if you can locate a new area for.... What did you say, Marcus?"

Marcus thinks, "Why am I cursed with a commanding officer who doesn't listen. Well, he's a civilian, not a soldier. What can I expect?" "Sir, I repeat, we have a huge hill of trash, and it is beginning to draw animals and insects. We need to find a way to dispose of it. I ask your permission to haul it off to another area on your land. If you would designate a place where the trash wouldn't be offensive, my men will carry it there."

Steev sends Marcus and three of his soldiers to get Claude's freight wagons. He has them use his dune buggy, so they can get to the warehouse faster. He and four soldiers walk to the Exosphere site where they dig through the hill to the exterior portal of the replicator hopper. He has the men build a wooden doorway around the portal to keep the hillside from sliding down and blocking it. They are curious about the green/brown surface they have dug out, but before they can ask questions, he sends them back to the camp to wait for the freight wagons.

They are given orders to load the trash on the wagons and bring them here. In the meantime, he hunts for and finds the controls to open the exterior doors. The doors are not like the iris doors that are located a hundred and eighty degrees apart in the sphere. These are composed of two leaves that slide apart when actuated. There are another seven of these door located around the perimeter of the sphere and were for maintenance and resupplying materiel for whoever manned the station. Fortunately for Steev and Cherl, they were on duty for their two-week stint when the H weapon struck the site.

Steev checks through the interior of the globe to see if he can find any more material to dump into the replicator's hopper, but he finds none. The Exosphere is an empty shell except for whatever lies below the diameter floor. There is probably more machinery and electronics above the ten-foot high ceiling, but the plasma torch won't cut through that construct either. He enters the computer/command center room to see if there is anything there that he can put into the hopper.

The only things left beside the computer workstations and the bank of dials and switches are two plastex body-molding chairs that he decides to leave. He checks the power supply gauge and is horrified to find the power has dropped to forty eight percent. Hopefully, wind turbines will correct that, but the power will take another hit when he uses the replicator to produce the turbine kits. He wonders what will happen if and when the power is completely drained. He sets up the problem and inputs it into the computer. The readout states that the requirement is 37 hours to compute for an incomplete answer and approximately 19,082,600 hours for an almost complete answer. It states that a complete answer will take an infinite amount of time. Steev groans and closes the door.

After he closes the computer room door and looks around; all he sees is the cave-like emptiness of the Exosphere. It seems like an omen to him.

Marcus arrives with four wagons loaded with trash from the encampment. Steev has the men build a wooden chute the width of the wagon bed and long enough to reach the replicator hopper; the soldiers shovel the trash from each wagon onto the chute and into the gaping maw of the hopper. They wonder how deep this hole can be to accept such a large amount of trash.

Marcus is a good soldier and doesn't question his commander. After they empty the wagons, Steev has the men use the chute to hide the hopper opening. He sends three of the wagons back to the warehouse and he, Marcus, and the rest of the soldiers ride back to the camp in the fourth one. Claude has given his permission for one wagon to be kept at the camp for waste disposal. Steev has just killed two birds with one stone: trash disposal and raw material for the replicator. He now has the wherewithal to produce wind turbines.

The following day, Marcus has his men start erecting the turbines from the kits that Steev has produced and demonstrated. He has enough parts to have eight of them built. Hopefully that number will be enough to satisfy the power hungry Exosphere. When he checks, he is aghast to find that replicating the turbines has reduced the power level to twenty one percent. The following day, he checks the computer to determine what will occur when power is exhausted. He is stunned when he learns the answer.

The H weapon blast sent the ExoSphere into this dimension and stored enough energy to put it into stasis on this world; however, when the power is dissipated, the ExoSphere will be slung back to Earth as though it had been attached to a stretched out cosmic rubber band. Power must be maintained at all costs if the sphere is to remain on Romana. Steev will have to walk a fine line between replicating additional wind turbines and using them to provide additional energy. It is a Catch-22. Hopefully, the computers will be able to tell him the optimum situation to prevent a catastrophe.

Returning to the estate, he seeks out Cherl and explains their dilemma. Cherl is torn between wanting to continue leading an idyllic life on Romana and returning to the land of her birth. Steev reminds her that Earth is a war torn desolation, but she thinks that possibly enough time has passed that it has been rebuilt. After all, since they have traveled at the speed of light to get here and to return, that centuries have elapsed since they left Earth. She asks if they are not inside the ExoSphere when it snaps back, will they be thrown back anyway. Steev is unable to give her an answer but tells her that if they are, they will not survive the return journey. They must be inside to arrive alive; furthermore, there is no way to tell in advance. It will be a most difficult decision to make when the time comes.

In the meantime, word comes from the coast that a fleet of the marauder's vessels is sighted and is approaching the harbor west of their encampment. The number of ships reflects that the small army that Marcus has gathered and trained will be vastly outnumbered and will certainly be overrun. In that case, Claude's estate will be in the marauder's path if they head for the city. Moving the people out is not an option as the marauders may land elsewhere and could still endanger them if Claude chooses the wrong area to take them.

Steev wracks his brain to come up with a solution. He believes that only he can save the day. He confers with Marcus and together, they come up with a plan. They take a large contingent of their troops and return to the ExoSphere. Marcus has the men dig to the supply doors and the iris doors and then hide them with timber and sod. When they learn that the enemy has indeed landed a few kilometers to the east, the plan is set in motion. In order to offset the difference in their strengths vis a vis the enemy, Steev replicates twenty third century military battle uniforms; they are a modern equivalent of medieval chain mail and will turn away anything but a direct hit from a laser weapon. A Roman soldier wearing one may be badly bruised or even knocked unconscious, but his body will not be penetrated by an enemy weapon, sword, axe, spear, or arrow.

Steev notes that the mail replication has dropped the ExoSphere power level to eighteen percent. He is concerned, but feels he must replicate additional materiel. If the camp and estate are overrun, the ExoSphere will be the least of his concerns. For the rest of the day, he churns out a myriad of plans, designs, diagrams, and blueprints for dozens of articles he believes can be either hand built or otherwise manufactured here on Romana. Next he begins replicating wheels made of FlexSteel rims and wide Plastex tires as large as the replicator will produce. Power level has dropped to fifteen percent, but he must continue to turn out material for the coming battle. Steev produces a quantity of short, light weight, high velocity compound bows and a like number of light, five foot recurve bows all made of high quality material. He also churns out many thousands of strong carbon arrows. The power level is down to eleven percent. He cannot allow the level to drop any more lest he lose the Exosphere that he needs for one more purpose.

Steve has Marcus set his men to building chariots for use against the marauders. With the replicated wheels, they will be able to roll on any terrain. He and Marcus show a few men how the shorter compound bows are to be used by soldiers in the chariots and the longer recurve bows by foot soldiers. With the more powerful weapons, sharper blades, and speed of the chariots, the older troops may stand a chance against the larger, heavier enemy army. He thinks of other weapons that might save the day, but he can't afford to lose the Exosphere at this time.

The men train with the new weapons until they are proficient. They take to these easier, better weapons from the start and are confident that they can win a battle against heavier odds. They feel like soldiers again.

When scouts report that the enemy has landed at the harbor five miles to the west, Marcus marches part of his troops to the Exosphere, and Steev leads the men inside. They are curious about this strange cave but are told to keep their minds on the coming battle. It isn't long before the marauders pass the sphere and are heading east toward the encampment.

Marcus leads his troops out of the sphere through the various portals and sets up a skirmish line; he shoots a fire arrow high in the air, signaling the eastern force to attack the oncoming enemy by chariots. Their orders are to hit and retreat. His western force fires a barrage of arrows into the rear of the enemy's position and retreats. The marauders are caught in a pincer movement and the hit and run tactic; they bunch together for defense, and when additional barrages of arrows rain down on them, they are decimated and demoralized.

Marcus wants to continue this type of warfare to keep his losses down, but his soldiers are caught up in bloodlust and request that they be allowed to attack. He agrees; the chariots attack from the east and the foot soldiers from the west. Forced to fight on two fronts against a now superior force, the marauders are wiped out with the exception of thirty men who surrender.

The captured soldiers are taken back to the harbor, allowed to board one of their ships, and told to tell their masters that the fate that befell their brethren will happen to any further incursions.

When the Guard troops board the rest of the marauder fleet, they discover that there are hundreds of camp followers and other women on board. The women are taken off the vessels, which are then sunk in the inlet making a breakwater that will allow only one ship at a time to enter the harbor; the women are escorted back to the encampment.

Marcus finds that some of the women are Roman citizens who have been taken during previous raids and were forced to serve the marauders. A few of them are taken back to Rome to be reunited with family; however, many have no family to go back to and decide to stay with the men of the Guard. They would have had no means of support in Rome and could have ended up as fodder for the Arena. In Marcus' encampment, they find men who will appreciate them. The enemy's camp followers will take some of the sexual pressure off the men not fortunate to find a mate among the freed women.

The captive women are stripped of clothing and forced to march through the Guard encampment to the catcalls and jeers of the soldiers. They are subjected to slaps and pinches by the men and, by the time they are permitted to rest, they have black and blue bruises from their thighs to their breasts. They are fed but are told they must repay the soldiers with their bodies.

Most of the eighty-four foreign women resign themselves to whatever sexual activity awaits them, but a few younger ones rebel and are harshly dealt with. They are bent over wooden trestles normally used as legs for a bench or table. Their ankles are pegged far apart leaving their vaginas exposed and open. Thin nooses braided from horsehair are looped around their breasts and pegged to the ground. The women have their hands free but cannot rise as the nooses tighten around their mammary glands when they try to move. They are in danger of having their breasts cut by the horsehair nooses should they attempt to change their position.